Healthy Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
There's a lesson in everything, including Pumpkin Spice Pancakes.
You see, the making of these pancakes did not come without sacrifice (not having breakfast due to a recipe fail) and a financial burden (it was an expensive recipe fail initially). But I'm SO excited to share that after two solid efforts which involved a ton of encouragement and cheerleading from my friends on Instagram and a pep talk with my Uber driver, we did it – and because of you, I've got super healthy and delicious Pumpkin Spice Pancakes for you!
I don't often get too caught up in the pumpkin spice craze that happens this time of year and funny enough, I don't often eat pancakes but for some reason, it felt right!
What I love about these pancakes is that they are both gluten-free and grain-free which means they can be enjoyed by many people with reside with those dietary restrictions. I don't eat gluten-free or grain-free all the time, but I do find that I feel my best when I err on that side. I'm constantly just checking in with myself and my body and asking "how does this make me feel?".
I think that's why I avoided pancakes for so long because truthfully, they never filled me up and just left me on a blood sugar rollercoaster which is a common reaction when starting your day with just carbohydrates. But when you make pancakes with whole foods, like buckwheat and pumpkin puree and load them up with a ton of healthy fats and protein, they can actually be a super satiating breakfast!
Another reason why pumpkin should be a staple in your diet this time of year is that it's in season and is packed with a ton of health benefits. It's:
A rich source of potassium which help to support blood pressure
Rich in antioxidants which can help prevent degenerative damage to the eyes
Packed with fibre which promotes regular bowel movements (woohoo!), helps to fill you up and is blood sugar-balancing to prevent a spike and crash in energy
Rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene to support the immune system (super important this time of year!)
If you plan on making these, please be sure to use canned pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling which contains added sugar. I actually deliberately made these pancakes sugar-free assuming that most people would drizzle them in maple syrup (as you should – take it from a Canadian!).
I've been dressing mine up with coconut butter (I'm OBSESSED! If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend this one) which is a source of healthy fats and has a sweet taste with next to no sugar at all. In addition to coconut butter, I'll add a schlop of coconut yogurt sprinkled with hemp hearts and a drizzle of maple syrup. All of this with the pumpkin spice flavour is just divine!
This made about 12-14 palm-sized pancakes so I've been enjoying them throughout the week but since I didn't finish them all (I don't like eating the same breakfast every day – blame it on the intuitive eating!), I froze the remaining ones so all I have to do is pop it in the oven if I want to enjoy them again.
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
Makes 12-14 palm-sized pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (vanilla almond milk works too!)
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp nutmeg
pinch of sea salt
Directions
Whisk wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine ingredients by mixing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a spatula. The batter should be thick.
Warm up pan with coconut oil to medium-high heat. Wait until hot (~5 minutes). This is KEY for pancakes!
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop up pancake batter and pour into pan. Cook each pancake for 2 minutes per side. You'll want to look for brown edges because the pancakes won't bubble like they usually do when they're ready to be flipped.
Enjoy with toppings of your choice such as coconut butter, almond butter, maple syrup, shredded coconut flakes, hemp hearts, walnuts and/or sliced bananas.
If you end up making these, please tag me @rachelmmolenda and use #RealAssFood so I can see them! Happy pumpkin-spicing!